Bad GRE

[Mylez]

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Ok, so I took the dreaded GRE.

400 Q
550 V

Bad? I know the quantitative is bad, but there really isn't much I can do this late in the game. I just took the GRE today so I don't know about the writing portion. My cum GPA is 3.71.

Opinions? I'm bad at computer based testing, should I write that or just let it stand?

 

[LilBowWow]

Hi.

I know you're feeling bummed, but don't let it stop you from trying again. I don't have any stats on this, but a lot of people (including people on this board and yours truly) end up taking the test at least twice: once to get their feet wet (no matter how many timed practice tests you take, there's nothing quite like the real thing), and once to kick butt.

Now, I realize that freakin' ETS, which is always happy to take your money, only allows you to take the GRE once per month. Do you think you could buckle down, beef up your vocab, and take at least one or two timed practice tests before Sept. 30 for an Oct. 1 test date? The 1st is a Sunday and I don't know if the testing centers are open that day, but VMCAS deadline is Oct. 2, so if you could discipline yourself to get your app done before the last day (and this on top of studying for the GRE -- I know it's a lot on your plate), you could technically take the test on Oct. 2.

If you have a good idea of the schools to which you want to apply, you should consult the individual offices to find out policies on the last date for a GRE that they'll accept. This date is not always the same as the VMCAS deadline. Penn, for example, uses the VMCAS app, but they will accept GRE scores taken up until Nov. 1. (This info. can be found on the individual info. sheets for each school on the AAVMC website: http://www.aavmc.org/vmcas/college_requirement.htm)

Tufts doesn't use VMCAS and has a Nov. 1 deadline; this is the deadline for everything, but someone on this board helpfully pointed out that Tufts is a school that will allow you to submit more info. after their deadline. I don't know whether this applies to GRE scores. It may be more for things like starting a new job or getting a new vet experience. Anyway, definitely contact the admissions office to find out for sure.

The bottom line is, don't give up. You can do this. Many people (myself included) would love to have your GPA! Unfortunately, I cannot erase my undergrad GPA. But you can improve your GRE scores, and with a little time management and a lot of determination, YOU WILL.

 

[youthman]

Call Kaplan - do the classroom course, all the homework, etc, and try again. I think your verbal will def be in the 600's and your math should at least jump into the 600's just from knowing HOW to take the test.

 

[ReinaDeLuz]

i agree with lilbow and youthman, DEFINITELY take it again! the second time i took it (without any extra studying) my score jumped 100 points. good luck!

 

[zufuss]

I took a kaplan course. Applied myself very rigourously to it.

Went from a 1040 to a 1390 in about 1.5 months.

680 m
710 v

I got practically the same scores originally as you. Might want to consider it 😎

 

[Mylez]

Ok, I'll give it a shot. Any suggestions on where to take the Kaplan course? Also, how pricey is it? Thanks for the heads-up guys. I should have prepped more!

 

[mysterypie]

Look up Kaplan online. You should be able to locate a few centers in your area from which you can choose the most convenient one. I took a 5 week course that was approximately $1000.00. Seems like a rediculous amount of money I know, but I felt that it was worth it. Plus I justified by thinking whats a 1K versus the thousands I will spend on my vet eduction. If this can help me get in then it's just another part of the cost.

Anyway, more than anything the course is just a very structured and regimented environment to force you to study on a very tight schedule. I appreciated it because I took the test the very last day of the Ohio State deadline and I only gave myself one shot. I literally finished the course two days before I took the test. You can even take the test before you've actually finished all the classes. Just do more of the lesson plans in a shorter amount of time and you can bullet the course however you want.

 

[Mylez]

Ugh. A lot of people have urged me to not take the GRE again. What are the odds of getting in with that poor of a Q score?

 

[mysterypie]

I'm not sure why anyone would urge you not to take it again. Honestly, I hate to say in but your score is definately on the low end. I know that for OSU a competitive score is around a 1250 and it's 10% of your total score for admission. Ohio State would probably interview you and then deny you and tell you to retake the GRE for next year. I know a girl. her dad's a vet and her brother was a second year and she didn't get in her first time around with an 1150. They told her the best thing she could do for the next application cycle was to retake the GRE and she did. She got around a 1250 and she got in on the second try. She had a good deal of experience too.

The number one cited reason for not getting in for most of the US schools is a poor GRE score.

 

[mysterypie]

also I don't really think saying I am bad at computer based testing will hold up as much of an excuse interview day. You can practice these things and get better.

 

[youthman]

The number one cited reason for not getting in for most of the US schools is a poor GRE score.

Wow, I didn't know that. What a way to add pressure to an already stressful event!😱

 

[cyrille104]

Forget the thousand dollar kaplan classes. Buy kaplan's most recent GRE book and the vocabulary book (500 words). I guarantee that if you know all 500 words your vocab score will go up by 100 points - those words are literally all over the test. You should also be able to get at least a 700 in the quantitative or at least close to it after completing the kaplan book's quantitative preparation. I just takes knowledge of basic math rules and relentlessly practicing your speed.

 

[Boxsterluv]

I agree with the previous poster to save money and buy the book. From what I hear, the kaplan course is very time-consuming and lots of hard work and by the halfway point, you're so burned out on it that you don't even want to go to class anymore, even though you paid so much for it! The book is very helpful, and make sure to get the book with the CD. The CD has little games (elementary, I know, but it works!!) and stuff on it that make it interesting, and they have practice tests. The practice tests should help you get used to taking a test on the computer.. They have little practice tests that are only on one section, then they also have full length practice tests. Sometimes you are simply unprepared for these things.. Buy the book, put in some time on the CD, get good sleep the night before and eat a good breakfast the day of... You'll be fine. Good luck!

 

[kate_g]

Don't ignore the free test prep software you can download from the GRE site itself (three sets of practice questions from each question type, and two complete tests, and it's the same format as the real test, so you get more familiarity with the computer-based aspect that you've already said you find difficult). Also on some other thread somebody mentioned the free GRE prep at http://www.number2.com. You may or may not want to do the tutorials and practice questions, but they have a "vocab builder" tutorial that also has a lot of words that show up on the real test. That one is pretty quick and easy and I felt like I learned new words pretty fast using it.

 

[traxomatic]

i personally liked the kaplan classes a lot. it helps to keep you disciplined to learn a lot in a short time...it definitely helped me out even though i only took the gre once.

 

[mammalmama]

I just want to let you know that even if you have low GRE scores that will not keep you from getting into Vet School. My total score was 800 and I still got in at Colorado State. I know where you're coming from. Colorado State doesn't look at the GRE as much as other schools do. Colorado State looks more at your GPA (which is very good by the way) and your vet experience. If you are going to apply to school's say like UC Davis then yeah I would take it again since they look at those scores a lot. If you don't feel like taking them again, don't worry, you did a lot better than me. You should get in.

 

[Quaggi]

I just want to let you know that even if you have low GRE scores that will not keep you from getting into Vet School. My total score was 800 and I still got in at Colorado State. I know where you're coming from. Colorado State doesn't look at the GRE as much as other schools do. Colorado State looks more at your GPA (which is very good by the way) and your vet experience. If you are going to apply to school's say like UC Davis then yeah I would take it again since they look at those scores a lot. If you don't feel like taking them again, don't worry, you did a lot better than me. You should get in.

that seems like pretty bad advice to me. i had a much higher GRE score and a higher GPA, and I was waitlisted at CSU. sure, i got in eventually, but there was no guarentee of that. Mylez, study and retake it, you can raise your score 🙂

 

[upennguy]

Umm, I've been reading these posts, and some of them I agree with, and some of them I don't agree with at all. I mean, come on people, there's more to getting into graduate school that just GRE scores. Yes, if you get a 300 on quant and 320 on verbal, then your chances are slim, but if there are two people with quant GRE scores of 740 and 770, there's really no difference. Besides, think of it like this:

If entrance into grad school was based solely on GRE scores, then why do schools require a transcript, letters of reference, personal statements, etc. If acceptance was based solely on GRE scores, then you wouldn't even need to apply because you could just use a silly formula to determine who is and who is not in. The bottom point: acceptance into graduate school is a process, and not a single event, such as a GRE test.

That said, I don't think that people should worry too much about preparation. I mean, if you have a week to study, well, then perhaps you should consider something else other than graduate school because if you can't plan to prepare for the GRE, then how in the world are you going to handle graduate school, where you have to plan classes, tests, research, travel, conferences, etc.

The verbal part is really hard to study for, but the quantitative part for the GRE is realtively easy to study for, especially because you can study the types of questions that you'll be given, which will help you greatly. Once you know what the test takers are asking for, then the quant part is relatively easy. These are not tricks that I'm talking about, but it just means that you should prepare. I used

http://www.number2.com
http://www.mygretutor.com

two websites that I think helped me immensly. Mygretutor.com especially was good because it has several full-length practice tests that you can take. Other than that, read, read, and ready to prepare for the verbal part of the GRE. Good luck. 😎

 

[HorseyVet]

Umm, I've been reading these posts, and some of them I agree with, and some of them I don't agree with at all. I mean, come on people, there's more to getting into graduate school that just GRE scores.

Ummm...this isn't about getting into grad schools, this is about vet school which really is a totally different bag of chips.

For a lot of grad school programs (and I'm not saying all of them)...*what* you've actually done and *who* you actually know is really a lot more important then it is for getting into vet school. We often have relatively similar experiences (so we can look all the same there) and often, for most people the admission people aren't going to have a clue who Dr. Joe veterinarian was who wrote your recomendation, which translates to adcoms not really caring so-much about Dr. Joe DVM's opinion. There will always be people that are best buds with the cheif of surgery at XYZ vet school who get a recomendation with some serious weight behind it, but that's a minority

Additionally, and especially for grad programs where you will be doing some form of research or otherwise working very closely with others, the application's personality carries a ton more weight. You could have the best grades and scores in the world, but if you lack charisma or don't "fit in" with your would-be lab mates they're not going to take you b/c they don't want to spent 7-5 with someone they don't really like being around.

At a lot of vet schools GRE really does matter. For some it's a straight forward percentage of your application score. If you're someone with some other not-so stellar apsects to your application, the GRE is something that could go a long way to help. I don't think it's wrong for applicants to take it seriously or be concerned.

 

[Mylez]

Ahah. I started quite the interesting discussion.

I decided to not retake the GRE for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is that I cannot retake it until October 2nd, and my local testing center is not open that day. Plus, most of the schools I am applying to will not accept a GRE score past the Oct. 2 date.

It was also a combination of financial and other academic factors that have kept me from leaping right into studying for it. I know it is important, but I guess I'll just have to see how I stack up this year. A few of the schools I am applying to do not rank the GRE very highly on their application so we'll just have to see, and if not, I'll definitely take the courses and retake it for the next year.

 

[Vet2be2012]

Mylez,
How did it end up turning out for you? I don't think the schools care that much about your GRE score. I too was worried about it! The first time I took the GRE, after setting aside over 8 months to study for it with kaplan and everything, I got a 330V and 700Q, and 5.5A. I was so depressed about the verbal but I applied anyways. Since I waited until the last minute to take the GRE, I couldn't retake it before the deadline. By the way, this was worse than my first diagnostic score with Kaplan! How depressing, lol! I retook it and got a 410V, 730Q, and 5A. The verbal still sucks, but at lest it's no longer the 12%ile! And to top it off, my GPA wasn't outstanding, about 3.64. So an average GPA and bad GRE scores. I am lucky I got in anywhere! 😉Good luck!

 

[Mylez]

Hi Vet2Be

I'm currently on alternate lists at three schools, rejected at Wisconsin.

I'm waiting on Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Currently I'm leaning for an hoping for Oregon, but I'll take what I can get at this point in time. 🙂 I'm still optimistic about getting in this year, but if I don't I will buckle down and retake the GRE...it's that simple. It was the weakest point of my application. Schools say they don't care but in reality it is an important factor in your rankings. (This with a 3.74 GPA (4.0 the last two semesters), tons of experience, involvement in the pre-vet club, and community service).

Of course, lots of the admissions people told me I would have probably gotten into their schools with my stats had I been a resident there. But I cherish the opportunity for WICHE funding.

Hakuna matata I guess! 😱

 

[HopefulUGACVM]

I didn't read all the posts so I may be repeating but heres my experience (now I can share bc I finally got in!)...

My first go 'round I got a whopping 320Q and a 450V... pretty awful huh? I completely choked during the test. Second time I improved to a then I took it about 2 months later and improved, but still not enough to get in (I can't even remember the score... total was about 1080). I did not get in my first time but my GPA is mediocre (3.37). I buckled down and took the Kaplan class and final score ended up being a 1200. Which is not super stellar, but it got me in this time!

 

[Vet2be2012]

Mylez, it looks like you applied for the same ones I did! I got rejected to all 4 of them though! I applied for all the wiche ones(colorado, washington, and oregon), plus Wisconsin, for some reason! I got flat out rejected at all of them. My application was pretty strong except my GRE. My gpa was average though, about 3.6. But over 10,000 hours of experience with animals, and even lot of other experience's with community service. I think my gre may have played a roll, since I was only able to submit my first test, 330V, 700Q, 5.5A. I guess that's life, right? We can't really control what we get on a standardized test. Since I improved it, I will submit that next time. But I'm still going overseas and will probably graduate there, but I will just apply to the wiche states for the heck of it again! Not hoping for much. They said I probably would have got in if I were in state too. We can't help it that we are residents with no vet schools though. Arizona isn't planning on having a vet school for awhile, if ever! Good luck though getting in. I hope you get in as I know what a pain the application process is!